System, method, and apparatus for regulating the flow of gas

ABSTRACT

Current natural gas measurement and regulation systems are sensitive to loss of electrical power, which can cause brownouts and curtailment of power in the local area if power systems reliant on natural gas are downstream from the station. A system for regulating the flow of natural gas and for guaranteeing the flow of natural gas from a source to at least one specific flow line even when the system is not provided with electrical power may be described. Such a system may include at least one of each of: a low-pressure regulation system, a high-pressure regulation system, an inlet gas filter, a relief valve, a low select relay, a differential pressure pneumatic relay, a reset relay, a 5-way universal relay, an electromechanically operated valve, a first manual multi-way valve, a second manual multi-way valve, a high calibration valve, a low calibration valve, a filter, and/or a differential pressure measurement system.

CROSS-REFERENCE APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/723,941 filed on May 28, 2015, which claims the priority under 35U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/026,285, filed onJul. 18, 2014, and the entire disclosure of the contents which arehereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

Many providers of natural gas make use of natural gas measurement andregulation (M&R) stations to control and track natural gas usage byother parties in the chain of distribution whenever a custody transferoccurs. At these stations, an electrically-powered flow computer isoften used to control the operation of a valve (often a run switch),opening or closing it to provide more or less natural gas flow inresponse to customer demand. Measurement and regulation stations areoften equipped with a photovoltaic power system to provide electricalpower to their equipment (generally flow computers, measurementinstrumentation, and various actuators), and may be equipped with abattery intended to store a small amount of electrical power to run thisequipment during short and routine periods of low insolation (such asduring the night or during periodic bouts of cloudy weather). Othermeasurement and regulation stations are directly provided withelectrical power from the grid.

However, under circumstances when power from the grid has been lost orwhen photovoltaics are unable to provide adequate electrical power foran extended length of time (such as during extended rain, severecloudiness, or during extreme weather conditions such as a hurricane),M&R stations cannot adequately monitor natural gas usage. As such, theycommonly stop the flow of gas through the station entirely. This forcesrecipients of natural gas that are downstream from the M&R stations,often including distribution utilities and natural gas-fired powerplants, to cease operations, something that has in the past causedbrown-outs and curtailment of power just when power has been needed themost (i.e. during or after hurricanes).

SUMMARY

A system for regulating the flow of natural gas may be described. Such asystem may include at least one of each of: a gas-pressure regulationsystem which receives a gas from outside the system, protecting thesystem from an overpressure of the gas and supplies a control gas and apower gas to the system, a differential pressure system which receivesthe control gas from the gas-pressure regulation system and relays thecontrol gas in the system, a control gas relay system which receives thecontrol gas from at least one of the gas-pressure regulation system andthe differential pressure system, and a multi-way universal relay whichreceives the power gas for an actuator from the gas-pressure regulationsystem and the control gas from the control gas relay system.

According to another exemplary embodiment, a method of regulating theflow of natural gas may be provided. Such a method may include at leastone of each of: receiving, by a gas-pressure regulation system of a gasflow regulating system, a gas from outside the gas flow regulatingsystem to protect the gas flow regulating system from an overpressure ofthe gas and to supply a control gas and a power gas to the gas flowregulating system, receiving, by a differential pressure system of thegas flow regulating system, the control gas from the gas-pressureregulation system to relay the control gas in the gas flow regulatingsystem, receiving, by a control gas relay system of the gas-pressureregulation system, the control gas from at least one of the gas-pressureregulation system and the differential pressure system, and receiving,by a multi-way universal relay of the gas-pressure regulation system,the power gas for an actuator from the gas-pressure regulation systemand the control gas from the control gas relay system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Advantages of embodiments of the present invention will be apparent fromthe following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments. Thefollowing detailed description should be considered in conjunction withthe accompanying figures.

FIG. 1 may display a schematic of one exemplary embodiment of a systemfor natural gas measurement.

FIG. 2 may display a schematic of one exemplary embodiment of a methodfor natural gas measurement.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the invention are disclosed in the following description andrelated drawings directed to specific embodiments of the invention.Alternate embodiments may be devised without departing from the spiritor the scope of the invention. Additionally, well-known elements ofexemplary embodiments of the invention will not be described in detailor will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of theinvention. Further, to facilitate an understanding of the descriptiondiscussion of several terms used herein follows.

As used herein, the word “exemplary” means “serving as an example,instance or illustration.” The embodiments described herein are notlimiting, but rather are exemplary only. It should be understood thatthe described embodiment are not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Moreover, the terms“embodiments of the invention”, “embodiments” or “invention” do notrequire that all embodiments of the invention include the discussedfeature, advantage or mode of operation.

According to an exemplary embodiment, a system for regulating the flowof natural gas and for allowing the flow of natural gas from a sourcethrough the system and to at least one specific flow line even when thesystem is not provided with electrical power may be described. Such asystem may include at least one of each of: a high-pressure regulationsystem or a series of high-pressure regulation systems of differenttypes to be placed in series (for example, a 1301G regulator capable ofreducing outlet pressure from some arbitrary high pressure to around 200psig, and a 1301F regulator capable of further reducing outlet pressureto around 80-100 psig), a low-pressure regulator or series thereof, aninlet gas filter, a relief valve, a low select relay, a differentialpressure pneumatic relay, a reset relay, a multi-way universal relay, anelectromechanically operated valve (e.g. a solenoid valve), and a firstmanual multi-way valve. Optionally, the system may also include a secondmanual multi-way valve, a high calibration valve, a low calibrationvalve, a filter, and/or a differential pressure measurement system.System components may be connected to each other and to system inputsand outputs with tubing appropriate for the pressure and composition ofthe gas being transported between them; in an exemplary embodiment, ⅜″diameter seamless metal tubing may be used for this purpose.

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary schematic of such a system. High pressurenatural gas may be supplied to an inlet gas filter 105 and subsequentlymay pass through a high-pressure regulation system 110 capable ofreducing the pressure. In an exemplary embodiment, the high-pressureregulation system may consist of a first pressure regulator 111 (in anexemplary embodiment, a 1301G-type pressure regulator may be used forthis purpose) and a second pressure regulator 112 (in an exemplaryembodiment, a 1301F-type pressure regulator may be used for thispurpose) linked in series. In an exemplary embodiment, gas pressure maybe reduced from a maximum pressure input of approximately 1440 psig toapproximately 200 psig by the first pressure regulator 111, and furtherreduced to approximately 100 psig by the second pressure regulator 112;other embodiments may accommodate a higher pressure input or may engagein more or less pressure reduction. Gas then may pass by a relief valve115 in order to provide overpressure protection to components furtherdownstream; in an exemplary embodiment, the relief valve 115 may beinstalled at the outlet of the high-pressure regulation system 110 whichmay be the outlet of second pressure regulator 112 may have a range ofpotential settings that allow pressure to be relieved from the system ata desirable point, and may be factory set to relieve pressure from thesystem when pressure at the relief valve 115 reaches a desired pressure.In an exemplary embodiment, this may be approximately 150 psig.

The high-pressure regulation system 110 may provide natural gas at a lowpressure to a low-pressure regulation system 120 and a multi-wayuniversal relay 125. The low-pressure regulation system may furtherreduce the pressure of the natural gas. In the embodiment displayed inthe exemplary schematic, the low-pressure regulation system 120 mayconsist of a single 67CFR low-pressure regulator (in an exemplaryembodiment, a 67CFR-type low-pressure regulator may be used for thispurpose), which may reduce gas pressure to approximately 35 psig undernormal circumstances but which may be field-set to provide more, less,or no pressure regulation (for a maximum pressure of approximately 100psig).

The low-pressure regulation system 120 in turn may provide gas to adifferential pressure pneumatic relay 130, an electromechanicallyoperated valve 135, a reset relay 140, and/or a first multi-way valve145, either individually or in any combination. The differentialpressure pneumatic relay 130 may be set to trigger when the differentialgas pressure across a plurality of adjustable set points within theapparatus reaches a certain value; this value also may be adjustable.Measurement of this differential pressure may take place across a flowmeter, a flow conditioner, an orifice plate, a valve, or under any otherconditions within the system. The threshold value or set point for thedifferential pressure pneumatic relay 130 to trigger may itself beadjustable; in an exemplary embodiment, this value may be set to be anydesired differential pressure between approximately 0.5 psig andapproximately 135 psig by a technician or may be field set by thecustomer, as desired. Alternatively, this value may be fixed, either ata value considered to be appropriate by the manufacturer or at a valuespecified by the user at or before installation of the differentialpressure pneumatic relay 130; using a fixed value in this manner maysimplify the design by reducing the number of moving parts. In theexemplary schematic, a differential pressure measurement may be taken atpoint 131 along the flow of natural gas 132.

Gas passing through the pneumatic relay 130 (hereafter referred to as“control gas”) may power the reset relay 140. In an exemplaryembodiment, when the control gas may pass through this system, a control(i.e. a switch or push-button, or in an exemplary embodiment, a knob) onthe reset relay 140 may be pushed away from the body of the reset relay140, potentially further exposing the control to a user. The reset relay140 may have multiple settings that cause it to perform differentbehaviors; for example, the reset relay 140 may have an automaticsetting and a manual setting. When in the automatic setting, the resetrelay 140 may open and close automatically when stroked with controlgas; when in a manual setting, the reset relay 140 may be opened withuser input when control gas is present.

Control gas may pass through the reset relay 140 and/or theelectromechanically operated valve 135 into a low select relay 150. Thelow select relay 150 may select and pass along the lower of the twopressure signals from the reset relay 140 and the electromechanicallyoperated valve 135, and thus may only allow control gas to pass by ifboth the reset relay 140 and the electromechanically operated valve 135are open and unobstructed. This may ensure that the output of the lowselect relay 150 may be controlled by either the reset relay 140 or theelectromechanically operated valve 135. The low select relay 150 maythen output control gas which, if allowed to pass through a secondmulti-way valve 155, may be used to stroke the multi-way universal relay125.

The first multi-way valve 145 and the second multi-way valve 155 may beconfigured to allow or deny the passage of control gas, as desired; thefirst multi-way valve 145 and the second multi-way valve 155 may also beconfigured to vent the control gas elsewhere, for example to an externaltank, to the rest of the system, to the atmosphere, or to anotherdesired location. In the embodiment displayed in the exemplaryschematic, the first multi-way valve 145 may be configured such thatwhen the first multi-way valve 145 is configured in a first position,gas may be allowed to flow between the multi-way universal relay 125 andthe second multi-way valve 155 and may be obstructed from flowing to thelow select relay 150. When the first multi-way valve 145 is configuredin a second position, the vent between the first multi-way valve 145 andthe second multi-way valve 155 may be obstructed and control gas may beallowed to pass unobstructed between the low-select relay 150 and themulti-way universal relay 125.

The second multi-way valve 155 may be configured such that when thevalve 155 is in a first position, gas that has been vented in thedirection of the second multi-way valve 155 from the first multi-wayvalve 145 may be vented elsewhere, for example to an external tank or tothe atmosphere. When the second valve 155 is in a second position,control gas may be directed between the low-pressure regulation system120 and the first multi-way valve 145; if the first multi-way valve 145is in the first position such that gas is allowed to flow between themulti-way universal relay 125 and the second multi-way valve 155,control gas may be supplied directly to the multi-way universal relay125 via this channel. Both the first multi-way valve 145 and the secondmulti-way valve 155 may be manually adjustable, may be triggeredautomatically in response to some stimulus, or some combination of thetwo. The first multi-way valve 145 and the second multi-way valve 155may be adjustable to a variety of positions or to only those previouslydescribed.

The multi-way universal relay 125 may exhibit different behaviors whensupplied with control gas from the second multi-way valve 155 and whenno gas is supplied. Power gas is defined hereafter as the gas used topower the actuator 180. In one potential embodiment, the multi-wayuniversal relay 125 may have two output ports for power gas, a firstport and a second port. When the multi-way universal relay 125 isstroked with control gas, the first port may be toggled or held closedand the second port may be toggled or held open, obstructing the flow ofpower gas from the first port and allowing it to flow from the secondport. When the control gas is removed, the open and closed ports may beswitched, allowing power gas to flow from the first port and obstructingits flow from the second port.

The electromechanically operated valve 135 may be a solenoid valve oranother type of valve that may be electromagnetically actuated. In anexemplary embodiment, the electromechanically operated valve 135 (in anexemplary embodiment, a 24-volt DC solenoid coil may be used for thispurpose) may be operationally connected to a field power sourceconnected to the system. When power is provided to the valve 135, it maycycle an actuator, resulting in changes to the gas flow of the system;when power is removed, the actuator may be restored to its originalstate. Other embodiments may use solenoids with differentcharacteristics; for example, a solenoid with different voltagerequirements may be employed.

A low calibration valve 160 and high calibration valve 165 may be usedto configure the pneumatic relay differential pressure measurementsystem 131. The low calibration valve 160 may be set to a low pressureby, for example, opening it to the atmosphere. The high calibrationvalve 165 may be set to a high pressure by, for example, applying anexternal pressure source known to be capable of generating a pressureequal to or higher than the pressure differential desired. One exemplaryembodiment of this system, as displayed in exemplary FIG. 1, may beconstructed with the assumption that an external pressure source may beused, and a filter 170, such as but not limited to a 7-micron filter,may be incorporated to filter out larger particulates that couldcontaminate the flow of natural gas through the system. A filter of analternate size may be used if desired, as may no filter at all.

A user may adjust the point at which the pneumatic relay 130 may trip byapplying the pressure source to the high calibration valve 165 andslowly increasing pressure until the differential pressure read by thedifferential pressure measurement system 131 has reached the desired setpoint; in the embodiment displayed in the exemplary schematic, a usermay observe whether or not the differential pressure has reached thedesired set point by observing the state of a control on the reset relay140. If the set point is not at the proper position, it may be adjustedby mechanically adjusting the pneumatic relay 130; in one exemplaryembodiment, the top of the pneumatic relay device 130 may contain anexposed lock nut which may be adjusted in one direction to lower thepressure of the set point and adjusted in the other direction to raisethe pressure of the set point.

The differential pressure represented by this set point may be reachedduring normal use of the system, this pressure differential may bemeasured by the differential pressure measurement system 131. This maytrip the pneumatic relay 130 and in turn cause the reset relay 140 tolock in the appropriate position. This may create a low-pressure signalto be passed to the low-select relay 150 even if the electromechanicallyoperated valve 135 is open, which may change the state of the multi-wayuniversal relay 125 and activate actuator 180.

In an additional exemplary embodiment detailed in FIG.2 a method ofregulating the flow of natural gas when the system is not provided withelectricity may be described. The first step may be to provide a gasflow regulation apparatus 200. Then the operator may start by supplyinghigh pressure natural gas to the inlet gas filter 202. The gas flow maybe allowed through the high pressure regulation system 204 to reduce itspressure and thus allowing the gas flow through a low-pressureregulation system 206. The operator may then allow the gas flow to adifferential pressure pneumatic relay 208 that may allow the gas topower the reset relay 210. The low pressure regulation system may alsoprovide natural gas to an electromechanically operated valve 214.Concurrently, natural gas may be provided to a reset relay 216. The lowselect relay may measure the lower of the two pressure signals from thereset relay and the electromechanically operated valve and may pass italong to multi-way valve 218. Finally, the operator may activate themulti-way valve 212 and output control gas to the multi-way universalrelay 220. That, in turn, may control the actuator regulating the gasflow.

The foregoing description and accompanying figures illustrate theprinciples, exemplary embodiments and modes of operation of theinvention. However, the invention should not be construed as beinglimited to the particular embodiments discussed above. Additionalvariations of the embodiments discussed above will be appreciated bythose skilled in the art.

Therefore, the above-described embodiments should be regarded asillustrative rather than restrictive. Accordingly, it should beappreciated that variations to those embodiments can be made by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention asdefined by the following claims.

What is claimed is,:
 1. A gas flow regulating system comprising: agas-pressure regulation system receiving a gas from outside the gas flowregulating system, protecting the gas flow regulating system from anoverpressure of the gas and supplying a control gas and a power gas tothe gas flow regulating system; a differential pressure system receivingthe control gas from the gas-pressure regulation system and relaying thecontrol gas in the gas flow regulating system; a control gas relaysystem receiving the control gas from at least one of the gas-pressureregulation system and the differential pressure system; and a multi-wayuniversal relay receiving the power gas for an actuator from thegas-pressure regulation system and receiving the control gas from thecontrol gas relay system.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein thegas-pressure regulation system further comprises: at least onehigh-pressure regulator receiving the gas from outside the gas flowregulating system, protecting the gas flow regulating system from theoverpressure of the gas and supplying the power gas; and at least onelow-pressure regulator receiving the gas from the at least onehigh-pressure regulator and supplying the control gas, wherein the atleast one high-pressure regulator receives the gas via a gas inlet,wherein a relief valve is installed at the outlet of the at least onehigh-pressure regulator to relieves pressure from the gas flowregulating system, and wherein an inlet gas filter provided to the gasinlet.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the differential pressuresystem comprises: a differential pressure pneumatic relay receiving thecontrol gas from the gas-pressure regulation system and relaying thecontrol gas to the control gas relay system; a high calibration valveconnected to the differential pressure pneumatic relay; a lowcalibration valve connected to the differential pressure pneumaticrelay; a differential pressure measurement system provided between thehigh calibration valve and the low calibration valve; and a filterprovided between the high calibration valve and the differentialpressure measurement system, wherein the differential pressure pneumaticrelay relays the control gas to the control gas relay system when adifferential gas pressure reaches a predetermined value.
 4. The systemof claim 1, wherein the control gas relay system comprises: a resetrelay receiving the control gas from at least one of the gas-pressureregulation system and the differential pressure system; anelectromechanically operated valve receiving the control gas from thegas-pressure regulation system; a low select relay connected to thereset relay and the electromechanically operated valve and selecting alower pressure signal between the control gas from the reset relay andthe control gas from the electromechanically operated valve; a firstmulti-way valve receiving the control gas from the gas-pressureregulation system and passing the control gas to a second manualmulti-way valve; and the second multi-way valve receiving at least oneof the control gas from the first multi-way valve and the selectedcontrol gas from the low select relay and passing at least one of thecontrol gas and the selected control gas to the multi-way universalrelay.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein the control gas flows from thefirst multi-way valve to the second multi-way valve when the firstmulti-way valve is configured in a first position, and the control gasbetween the first multi-way valve and the second multi-way valve isobstructed when the first multi-way valve is configured in a secondposition.
 6. The system of claim 4, wherein the control gas from thefirst multi-way valve flows outside the gas flow regulating system whenthe second multi-way valve is configured in a first position, and atleast one of the control gas from the first multi-way valve and theselected control gas from the low select relay flows to the multi-wayuniversal relay when the second multi-way valve is configured in asecond position
 7. The system of claim 4, wherein at least one of aswitch, a push-button and a knob of the reset relay is pushed away fromthe body of the reset relay when the control gas strokes the resetrelay, and the reset relay is open and close with at least one of anautomatic setting and a manual setting.
 8. The system of claim 1,wherein the multi-way universal relay has a first port for the actuatorand a second port for the actuator, the power gas flows from the firstport to the actuator when the control gas from the control gas relaysystem strokes the multi-way universal relay, and the power gas flowsfrom the second port to the actuator when the control gas from thecontrol gas relay system is removed.
 9. A method for regulating a flowof gas comprising: receiving, by a gas-pressure regulation system of agas flow regulating system, a gas from outside the gas flow regulatingsystem to protect the gas flow regulating system from an overpressure ofthe gas and to supply a control gas and a power gas to the gas flowregulating system; receiving, by a differential pressure system of thegas flow regulating system, the control gas from the gas-pressureregulation system to relay the control gas in the gas flow regulatingsystem; receiving, by a control gas relay system of the gas-pressureregulation system, the control gas from at least one of the gas-pressureregulation system and the differential pressure system; and receiving,by a multi-way universal relay of the gas-pressure regulation system,the power gas for an actuator from the gas-pressure regulation systemand the control gas from the control gas relay system.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, wherein receiving the gas from the outside gas flow regulatingsystem further comprises: receiving, by at least one high-pressureregulator of the gas-pressure regulation system, the gas from outsidethe gas flow regulating system to protect the gas flow regulating systemfrom the overpressure of the gas and to supply the power gas; andreceiving, by at least one low-pressure regulator of the gas-pressureregulation system, the gas from the at least one high-pressure regulatorto supplying the control gas; wherein the at least one high-pressureregulator receives the gas via a gas inlet, wherein a relief valve isinstalled at the outlet of the at least one high-pressure regulator torelieves pressure from the gas flow regulating system, and wherein aninlet gas filter provided to the gas inlet.
 11. The method of claim 9,wherein receiving the control gas from the gas-pressure regulationsystem further comprises: receiving, by a differential pressurepneumatic relay of the differential pressure system, the control gasfrom the gas-pressure regulation system to relay the control gas to thecontrol gas relay system, wherein a high calibration valve is connectedto the differential pressure pneumatic relay; wherein a low calibrationvalve is connected to the differential pressure pneumatic relay; whereina differential pressure measurement system is provided between the highcalibration valve and the low calibration valve; and wherein a filter isprovided between the high calibration valve and the differentialpressure measurement system, wherein the differential pressure pneumaticrelay relays the control gas to the control gas relay system when adifferential gas pressure reaches a predetermined value.
 12. The methodof claim 9, wherein receiving the control gas from at least one of thegas-pressure regulation system and the differential pressure systemfurther comprises: receiving, by a reset relay of the control gas relaysystem, the control gas from at least one of the gas-pressure regulationsystem and the differential pressure system; receiving, by anelectromechanically operated valve of the control gas relay system, thecontrol gas from the gas-pressure regulation system; selecting, by a lowselect relay of the control gas relay system, a lower pressure signalbetween the control gas from the reset relay and the control gas fromthe electromechanically operated valve; receiving, by a first multi-wayvalve of the control gas relay system, the control gas from thegas-pressure regulation system and passing the control gas to a secondmanual multi-way valve; and receiving, by the second multi-way valve ofthe control gas relay system, at least one of the control gas from thefirst multi-way valve and the selected control gas from the low selectrelay to pass at least one of the control gas and the selected controlgas to the multi-way universal relay.
 13. The method of claim 12,wherein the control gas flows from the first multi-way valve to thesecond multi-way valve when the first multi-way valve is configured in afirst position, and the control gas between the first multi-way valveand the second multi-way valve is obstructed when the first multi-wayvalve is configured in a second position.
 14. The method of claim 12,wherein the control gas from the first multi-way valve flows outside thegas flow regulating system when the second multi-way valve is configuredin a first position, and at least one of the control gas from the firstmulti-way valve and the selected control gas from the low select relayflows to the multi-way universal relay when the second multi-way valveis configured in a second position
 15. The method of claim 12, whereinat least one of a switch, a push-button and a knob of the reset relay ispushed away from the body of the reset relay when the control gasstrokes the reset relay, and the reset relay is open and close with atleast one of an automatic setting and a manual setting.
 16. The methodof claim 9, wherein the multi-way universal relay has a first port forthe actuator and a second port for the actuator, the power gas flowsfrom the first port to the actuator when the control gas from thecontrol gas relay system strokes the multi-way universal relay, and thepower gas flows from the second port to the actuator when the controlgas from the control gas relay system is removed.